Schizophrenic Hearts
by MadHope
Summary: No one would ever say that Alice was a normal girl.But when she's sent to a mental asylum, she runs into people just as crazy as she is-maybe more!With a girl that thinks she's a queen and a sneaking cat-boy,Alice is in for a ride!Rated T for..stuff :
1. Red

The voices. They were everywhere. They talked to her. Talk, talk, talk. They whispered things, rude things, cruel and harsh and evil things. No one else could hear them. The voices told her to do things; unthinkable things. No one else could hear them. The voices told her to do things; unthinkable things. But they thought of them. And they put them in her mind.

_Alice,_ they called, _Alice… come with us. We're here… do what we say… Now!_ A shiver ran through her entire body. She wanted to scream. But nothing would come out.

Never.

She never, ever screamed.

Because then they would know.

They would know her thoughts.

They would know that she hated them.

That she wanted them to go away.

And then they would never go away.

Sunlight. Warm and orange, behind her eyelids, with a hint of red. She let the color stray, staring at it through her eyelids like film. A voice reached her. One that reached her ears. From outside of her head. And she opened her eyes.

In the front seat, her mother. Pale, wearing red.

Alice detested the color red.

It was everywhere; behind her eyelids when the sun hit her; on her mother's clothes; in people's eyes when they glared upon her; in her dreams when the voices put those thoughts, those evil, evil thoughts into her mind.

Another voice reached her. In her ears. Away from her mind. She liked this.

"It's time."

Time. What a funny thing, time. Sometimes when the voices were bad, there was too much time. Too much time they spent, spouting evil things into her heart, jabbing and stabbing and making red with their words over the longest of times.

And then there wasn't enough time. Not nearly enough time. Not enough time before her mother said it. Not enough time before it was out in the open, and everyone knew.

Of the voices in her head.

Of the evil things they said.

They shouted.

She tried to ignore them.

Not enough time.

Another voice, the same before, the better one.

"Are you alright?" Her mother. Still pale. Straw-hair pulled into a bun, while Alice's own ran down her back. Her eyes blue, light blue, not red. But inside, black. Darkness. Where the voices wanted to drag her. Down, down, down. To the red.

"I am fine." A different voice. It took a moment for her to recognize it as her own. A nod from her mother.

"Let's go, then." _Click, tap-tap, clunk!_ Both out of the car, onto pavement. The sun red, burning down upon them. Alice felt as if sometimes it watched her, looked for her secrets, so it could tell the voices what she thought, what they didn't already know.

"Come on, Alice, this way." She followed her oh-so pale, almost fading mother towards the building that reached up to the sky on it's tippy-toes but couldn't quite reach. It was white, and the door was white, and it was all so pure-pure, white, white.

The door slid open, and they walked into the building. Up to the desk, the ink-and-laundry-and-metallic-smelling desk with the receptionist with the big teeth, big buck teeth when she smiled, and the white-white name-tag that read 'Josephine'.

"Hello, there." A sickly-sweet voice, a different voice, a not-very-pleasant-but-not-so-bad voice. Her pale-pale mother smiles, her lips thin, so thin, the line will disappear.

"Hi, I'm Reine Lidelle. I'm here to drop off my daughter, Alice." _Click, click-ity-click-click._ The woman taps into the computer, humming to herself. Ho, hum, hum. Alice looks around the oh-so-white, blaring white room. _Click-clack-ity-clack. Click-clack. Hum ho hum._ A girl sits in a chair, her legs swinging. A bright red bow in her hair. _Thunk, thunk, thunk. Click-clack-ity-clack. Hum ho hum-he-hum._ A final hum, and Alice looks back at the horse-mouth lady and her pale-pale mother. The horse smiles.

"Alright then, you can just head on down the hall to your left and look for room 207. Try not to let her go into other rooms. Dr. Pillar will see you and her soon, alright?" Her mother smiles, her lips disappear, no line.

"Thank you very much." Like a dog, Alice follows, glancing back at horse-mouth. She cannot go into any other rooms. They do not want her to tell, for others to know of the voices. She is like a dog; kept on a leash all the time; can't go where she wants. Always, always. _Thap-thap-thap._ Her mother's flip-flops slap against her heels as she walks. Other than that it is silent and they walk down the sick-smelling hall, the carpet below them shifting and swirling and hissing at her.

This has happened before.

Alice ignores it.

From the other end of the hall she sees a blob. It splits into two blobs as they get closer and one melds into a tall oh-scary man and the other into a boy with oh-so curly light hair, not as light as hers, a light brown. His eyes are darker and stare at her a minute, and then he bursts into the laughter. It sounds throughout the silent-silent hallway and for a second pauses the _thap-thap-thap._ The tall oh-so-scary looking man looks down at the boy; his eyes are red.

Red. Alice detests red.

The oh-so-red-and-scary man grabs the boy's collar and pulls him down the hall, the boy's laughter ringing in her ears as he passes and still resonating even when it fades into the distance.

_Thap-thap-th-thap-thap._ Her mother is walking faster and Alice speeds up also, though her footsteps are silent and they make no _thap-thap-thap_ping sounds. Her mother shakes her head and Alice wonders if she were to turn around, if her pale-pale mother's eyes were to be red.

"203…204…205…" Muttering, muttering, muttering. Like the voices in her head, yet not quite, but too close. Her mother mutters, the _thap-thap-thap-thap_ growing faster.

"206…" One, two, three, one two, three… Like a dance, with the _thap-thap-thap._ Alice almost giggles. The beat stops as does the _thap_ping and her mother stares, so Alice looks too. Before them, a door with a silver plaque that reads 207.

"Here it is," her mother mutters. A try at sounding cheerful dies not before reaching Alice's ears and she nods at receiving the information. A response she would give to anything but the voices. _Click-click, scrrrk, click, thap-thap-thap-thap._ In they walk to a room. The smell is more in here, more sick and ink-y and metallic. A bed growls at her from the corner, a couple of flowers in a vase on the bedside table whisper to each other about her. Already the room is alive, whispers and voices new and old coming out of the walls.

A sigh in her ear.

Away from her mind.

The way she liked it.

"Well, this is it." Her mother's pale-pale face turns to her and her blue eyes frown at her as the line of her mouth disappears.

"I hope you're not too angry with me, Alice. I just didn't know what to do." The whispers quiet down and Alice stares at the pale-pale and blue and thin of her mother's face and another voice reaches her ears as her own lips move.

"It's alright. I understand." Of course she understood. Her mother couldn't take care of her; she didn't hear the voices. And Alice didn't want her to. There were too many things they hinted, whispered, evil-evil things they planted in her mind. Her mother's lips vanished again and her eyes lifted.

"Good. Well, set your things down and I'll go see if there's anyone I can ask about where Dr. Pillar's office is." _Thap-thap-thap_ping follows as her mother leaves her with the murmuring walls and hissing flowers. Walking across the room, Alice drops her bag on the bed, which gave a groan and a hiss and a glare. She didn't dare sit down, nor did she want to remain standing lest the walls decide to squeeze in and push her. How long had it been since she had taken those pills? A few minutes? Hours? Daysweeksmonthsyears—Too long. Too much time. There had been too much time and now there was not enough time. Time-time-ity-time. _Thap-thap-thap._ The pale-pale of her ghostly pale mother was back, her lips just barely visible as the corners of her mouth made bent lines.

"Alright, I found out where his office is. Are you ready?" A nod is given, to the voice of her mother and not the ones in her head, and she follows the _thap-thap-thap-thap_ping fading blue of her mother out of the murmuring room.

Down, down, down the smell-of-ink-and-metal-and-sick hall with the _thap-thap-thap._

This time there is no laughing boy and they reach an angry-looking door and a _knock-knock-knock_ later they're inside. Oh, so loud! The cacophony of voices burst in her ears like a million drums all pounding a different beat. She flinches and Alice sees her mother glance at her with that light blue in her eyes and her pale-pale face without the lips. At another desk, and angry-almost-red desk sits a scary-man with a dark blue suit and sharp eyes.

They are motioned to sit and Alice sees the red in the man's eyes even though the blue is on his body and the walls are still screaming and Alice lets out a whimper but she doesn't shout, she'll never shout and the walls keep yelping and they're oh-so-angry—

"Is she all right?" A voice breaks the fray and the voices calm down a little, though they still jeer and stab like an army of bees, stinging and burning. Her mother frowns and glances at her again, her eyes still blue, her face pale-pale.

"Well, she seemed fine earlier…" Another different voice enters from the scary-man at the angry desk.

"Has she taken her prescription medication today?" Again her mother's lips disappear and appear those curvy lines.

"I thought she did… Alice, dear? Did you remember to take your medication today?" Alice shakes her head, but can't open her mouth because the voices have started yelling and screaming again and she can't call out, she refuses to yell back.

"I'll call someone to bring in her medication. It's best if she goes and gets her rest. Meanwhile, you and I can discuss…" The rest of the words are drowned out in the screaming and everything is blurring and spinning and she's falling and suddenly something is being shoved into her mouth and it's round and small and then there's something cold and wet; she gags, but something blacks it and her head is back and her neck hurts and the colors are everywhere and everything is still spinning and someone takes her numb arms and she's on her feet and everything-everything

Turns black.


	2. Blue

**HEY GUYS! I know, I know. It's been a realllllly long time.. I hope I still have people who like this story T.T I just had such writer's block after the first one, I had such difficulty writing it :/ But I'm kind of getting back into the flow of things, so here you go! ^^ This chapter is short like the other one- I can't remember if it's shorter than the previous one, but ahh well. But I do promise that they will get longer in the future! I pretty much have what I'm going to write planned out, sooo I hope you like it ^^ Anyways,**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>When she awoke, the man with the red, red eyes was gone. So was her mother. Instead she lay on a hard bed with strange, peeking sheets. Like they were watching her and cursing her for being so heavy and using them to lie on. The room was small, cold. The walls were white, but the corners grew shadows that leered at her, where the voices stemmed from. But for now, they were quiet. Small murmurs in the back of her mind.<p>

That she could handle.

Alice sat up slowly and carefully pulled her legs to the side of the bed. The room was empty other than the bed and a small table next to it. On it lay one piece of small, crisp paper and a little bottle. She stood and moved over it, her eyes scanning over the paper.

_Dear Alice,_

_You had a small spell in Mr. Pillar's office, so they brought you back to your room. The nurses informed me it would be best to leave you here for at least a week by yourself, to get used to this place, and Mr. Pillar decided it would be best to reschedule. Honey, I know it's hard, but I promise it's for the best. Just try, for me please. I will see you in about a week or so._

_P.S: I had the nurses make a small liquid version for you to put your medicine in, since I know you hate taking the pills. Hopefully you'll like it, but please take it._

_Love,_

_Mom_

Alice looked over at small bottle. It was clear and short, with a clear liquid in it, and had thin, delicate card tied to the stopper reading in swirly, neat handwriting, _Drink Me!_ She was thirsty-extremely thirsty. Her mouth was sandpaper, begging for a drink. But she knew what this one held.

That small, blue pill. The one that made the voices quiet down.

She liked when the voices were quiet. Like now. But when she took it, she could sense them gnawing at the back of her mind- she didn't want them to know. To know that she was trying to get rid of them. Defying them. That she hated them. Because then they would come back.

And they would hate her, too.

Her mother didn't understand. She cared, but she didn't know. Despite this, Alice carefully picked up the bottle between her thumb and index finger. Oh-so-carefully she pulled the itty-bitty stopper and set it on the table, next to the paper. Then she stared into the bottle, the still, clear liquid that was staring back at her.

She didn't want to drink eyes.

She could almost feel them, slimy, slithering down her throat. Alice blinked and shook her head, trying to steel herself. So, she closed her eyes and swallowed it, the liquid cold and slimy as it slipped down her throat. Alice could taste the bitterness of that small blue pill and forced herself not to gag.

She finished half the bottle before setting it back on the table, pushing the stopper back in and cutting off the rest of the liquid. Alice breathed for a moment, and glanced around. Almost immediately the shadows seemed less angry, and the remaining liquid wasn't eying her. But there was still something.

The bottle was smarter than Alice.

It knew about the voices. The liquid wanted to help. And knew how. It was waiting for Alice to figure something out. And now she felt tiny compared to it- everything so much larger, looking down at her, disappointed that she hadn't figured whatever it was out yet. She shrank and faced the door, which seemed a lot taller than before, the key hole gaping at her. Alice padded over to it, only barely noting that she was barefoot, and after a moment's hesitation, she reached out and touched the knob.

It was freezing, and she almost snatched her hand away. Instead she tightened her grip and turned it ever so slightly.

Unlocked.

Why would they leave it unlocked? She wondered, her eyebrows conversing and the edges of her lips tugging painfully downward. They didn't want her to go into other people's rooms. That's what that lady had said early- the one with the horse mouth. Now that she thought about it, Alice felt slightly embarrassed about thinking of her that way. Or anyone. But not Mr. Pillar. Whenever she thought of him, she couldn't regret seeing his red-red eyes, his terrifying face and roaring office. Alice shook her head before focusing on the doorknob. She turned it again, ever so slightly, and began to tug it open.

The hallway was long. Empty. Tall. There was no laughing boy. The carpet was still. Alice felt like a mouse as she took a tentative step forward, looking both ways. It was dark, the shadows settled into the corners or lay sprawled across the walls and floor.

To her right, down at the end, there seemed to be a faint blue glow enticing her forward. So, she took another few steps. She pulled the door slightly behind her, so that it's edge touched the doorway; not closed in case it locked behind her and she couldn't go back, but not wide open that it would give the voices the chance to follow her, or let anyone passing by know at a glance that she wasn't there.

Alice moved toward the blue light, the cool air crawling at her neck, and she glanced behind her several times before forcing herself to focus on the blue. She moved closer and closer, the only sounds being the light pad of her feet when she let them come down harder than expected. Closer, closer. The blue light grew bigger, and Alice shrank as she gained on it.

It flickered occasionally, as if someone were walking in front of it, and a few times she stopped, fear striking her. What if someone were there, that heard the voices worse than her? This was a place for people like her, after all. Or people who were worse. But why would someone like that be out at night? Unless, of course, their door was unlocked, too. Despite this, she pushed forward, and soon found her toes bathed in the blue light.

Alice peeked around the corner and halted. There, in a slightly open doorway, the blue light spilled. She inched forward, nudging the door ever so quietly. There was only the occasional shuffle coming from inside, and suddenly a quiet laugh. Alice froze, and after a second reached out and pulled the door open even more. The blue light bathed her feet as her eyes settled on the scene before her.

It was a small room, though much larger than her own, with one couch, a television, and a small refrigerator in the corner. From the couch came another laugh, as the one before, and Alice glanced at the television, i.e., the source of the blue light. It was simply a blue screen, colored and blank, with no moving pictures of people or actresses. The laugh, a male laugh, Alice decided, came again, though Alice now was concerned as to where the source of comedy was coming from. Suddenly the person stood, and the blue was blocked. The form was taller than her, maybe a head taller, with broad shoulders and shaggy brown hair.

They turned and Alice didn't have enough time to move before his eyes alighted over her. From the dark it was impossible to tell what eye color he had, but from where she was it looked almost as if they were yellow. He was handsome, around her age, and as she watched a slow, large grin curled across his face, showing off brilliantly white teeth. He stepped onto the couch, hopping off the back towards her, and Alice stumbled back with large eyes as he crossed to the door way in no time.

His grin was huge, stretching across his face like… like a cat. Did cats smile? When the voices were louder, she could see them smile at her. Before they grew fangs and tried to bite her face—

He continued to grin at her as he grabbed hold of the door. And then, he whispered just a few words in a low voice, almost a growl that ran deep in her stomach.

"Lost, are we?"

He slammed the door in her face.

* * *

><p><strong>:O So who is this? Wouldn't you like to know ;) Well we'll meet a lot of the characters in this next chapter if all goes well :) and I'm going to not make Alice as crazy as she was in the first one all the time, because a lot of the time she'll be on medicine for it, but we'll see about later on! So anyhow, I hope you enjoyed it! Review and things,, see you later!<strong>


	3. The Mad, The Red, and The Cat

**Hey! Been a while... Sorry guys, and anyone who's reading my other stories! I know I'm behind... I suck :/ These few weeks have been a little hectic, next week will be, too, so just please be patient with me! I love you guys :) Anyhoosers... I hope you like it!**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>Alice woke up again a second time. This time the bottle was half empty, and the voices were starting to crowd her mind again. There was something different in the air, also; sort of like a buzz of activity, letting her know something was happening, or was going to happen. She lifted herself up carefully; her feet were still bare, her body encased in a light blue dress that clung to her in some places and hung carelessly at others.<p>

She finished the rest of the drink-not thinking about anything but her mother. Her blue-blue eyes. Instead Alice tried to think of last night. She felt the voices edge off, hissing in annoyance—but not complete anger—at the pills. This was good.

Alice couldn't decide if last night had been a dream or not. The boy with the yellow-ish eyes, and the enormous, stretched grin. After he'd slammed the door in her face, she'd run back to her room, feeling as if his smile followed her, staring at her back, chasing at her, before throwing herself into her room and burrowing under the covers. Just then there was a knock at the door, and a voice.

On the outside of her head, the way she liked it.

She stared at the door, and blinked. It opened, a white light filtering into the room. Moving from it was a short woman dressed in a white uniform, her brown hair pulled back in a high pony tail. She smiled at Alice.

"Good morning, dear! I hope you slept well! It's just about time for breakfast. Have you taken your medicine yet?" Alice nodded and indicated to the empty bottle, and the nurse nodded.

"Alright then, if you'll step out and follow me, I'll show you to the cafeteria." Alice did so after slipping into some thin, pale shoes and shuffling past the nurse out the door. The woman locked it behind her, flashing a smile at Alice before leading her down the hallway. Alice glanced back at the door.

Why would they lock it during the day and not at night? She wondered.

Shaking these thoughts out of her head, she followed the nurse around a corner and into a longer hallway. There were a few more nurses that gave smiles to her as she past, all having bright teeth but not nearly as big as horse-face. Up ahead she could hear clinking and the murmur of voices, and a knot of nerves twisted in Alice's stomach. She wasn't good with people—even before they knew. She didn't know how to talk to them.

And she didn't want them to hear the voices.

Despite the fact that they were quiet now—she knew they'd be back. They reached the end of the hallway, opened double doors, walking inside.

It was a large cafeteria. Long tables set spread away from each other, lined with people in somewhat the same clothing as her. The woman in front of her turned and smiled.

"This is where you'll be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner, alright? Now be sure to be nice to all of the others, and they'll be nice to you. I have to go handle a couple things, but would you try and make friends?" Alice nods, feeling like she was in kindergarten again. But that was before the voices. And before the awkwardness.

Actually… the awkwardness started there, she thought.

There were only about ten children in her old kindergarten class. All neatly dressed, good appearance. Alice was small, blonde-haired, blue-eyed. Davy Bucket was in that class. He pushed her down once-called her stupid. Took her toy. Meggie Anders laughed at her. Pulled on her long hair.

After that, Alice found it hard to try and make friends.

Especially now.

The woman left her, standing alone at the edge of the cafeteria. Several eyes turned to her. Some with hints of red. Others with blue. She liked these better. But she still stayed away. Instead, Alice moved to the lunch line. It was a long, metal counter with trays at the beginning, stacks of food throughout, and a stout lunch lady in a hairnet at the end. Alice took a small, plastic tray up and stood in line next to a tall, lanky boy. He had dark hair, and didn't turn to her. He had a strange tick—his arm would twitch every so often, and he'd glance around, and fiddle with things—he wouldn't leave them alone.

Alice had never seen someone so interested in everything before. Or maybe he could hear voices, too—maybe he was trying to find a distraction.

She'd tried this before.

It hadn't worked.

Alice decided against speaking to the boy, and slid forward as the line moved. She eyed the food. She took a bread roll, set it on her tray. A bowl of macaroni. Peas. A carton of milk. Finally Alice reached the end of the line. The lunch lady had a bored, blank expression on her face, and her brown eyes turned to Alice as she scanned her patient card Alice hadn't realized was clipped onto her chest.

As she fiddled with the plastic card, Alice moved away from the line before looking up. The cafeteria was still full of buzzing insects, though quieter than expected since half the place was filled. Most people sat away from each other. Glared with red eyes. Alice stepped between tables, down small aisles, looking for somewhere without someone with red-eyes, or twitchy ones, or ones that glared at her. _Psst…_ Alice froze. _Psssst…_ She had taken her pills, Alice reminded herself. She glanced to the table beside her. A woman closest to her was slowly chewing on her napkin; so she didn't hear the voices. But the voices had to be gone. So that meant…

"Psssssst!" Alice turned quickly to her right. Caught brown eyes and light hair.

Him.

The boy from before.

The laughing boy.

He motions to her, glancing around, like it's a secret.

Alice glances around, too.

No one notices.

Alice moves toward the table. To the only side with no people. She sits her tray down. The laughing boy smiles. Next to him, to his right, is a girl.

She glares down at her food. She has long brown hair.

Tied up with a huge red bow.

Alice flinches.

The girl looks up at her—red eyes, so red!—and snarls. She shoves her food away from her.

The tray clatters to the floor.

Mashed potatoes splatter.

No one seems to notice.

Alice sits slowly, slowly on the cool bench. Next to the boy—to his right, away from the red—is another boy. He stares at her.

Something shoots through her.

Fear?

Recognition?

Both.

His dark hair.

He grins.

His eyes are strangely yellow. The grin—it stretches across his face, so wide.

Alice reminds herself—pills, she took pills, I took pills, you took pills—were they working? She didn't know. She couldn't hear the voices.

But everything else was still there. The laughing boy leans forward, oh-so close, directly in her face, centimeters away. His eyes widen-they are dark brown, but underneath there's blue, maybe purple—

"Are you her?"

Alice blinks. She opens her mouth to respond, but doesn't know how.

How does she answer the question?

"She's not her," Red snarls, her face so-red as she pokes at her thin tummy, "She's stupid." The cat boy grins. Stares. Alice shifts. Laughing boy continues to grin.

"I guess, maybe you're not," he whispered, smiling, "I'm mad!" Cackles. So loud! Alice watches in amazement as he bursts into a fit of giggles.

"Mad, had, tad, sad, bad, bat, hat, mad-hat! Madder-Hatter! Ha-ha-ha-ha!" The mad hatter laughs, flailing, turning red in the face—a funny-looking red, not an angry one—falling over himself. Red girl pokes at her tummy and her arms. Cat grins before raising a small plastic knife. It's been sharpened to a point—sharp, sharp point.

He brings it down.

A voice screams.

It is Alice.

* * *

><p><strong>:O Well if you wanted a cliffhanger... there you go ;) Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon... So you don't have to wait :) But yeah... So, you like it so far? Are there any characters I have yet to mention you would like in? The plot will start to develop a bit more, promise! ^^ Well, hope you liked it. Review and things, love ya! later!<strong>


	4. White

**Heya there! Back again :) So... Yeah. It's been a while ^^" But not as long as last time! :D Soooo yeah... Um... sorry, I'm just, eh... tired... I hope you liked the last one, and hope you like this one! and if you have suggestions for any of my other stories, including this one, please... Feel free... :) hehe ^^" Anyhows...**

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>They drug her.<p>

She's rushed to the hospital—she has to have stitches. Her mother is angry- so, so red! Alice doesn't know how long it is until she is sent back-not to her home, not to where she used to be, wants to be—but to that place with the mad hatter and the red girl and the smiling boy.

They increase her dose.

She is having a good day, in her room, fine. When a nurse comes in—says someone has something to say. Alice followed her. Fiddles with the white cloth around her hand.

It doesn't hurt anymore—but it did. She shivers to remember it.

They walked down the hallway. Alice is calm. Slightly nervous, but mostly calm. The voices aren't there. They reach the door of a room. The nurse opens it, tells her to sit. It is a small room, with one desk to the left and two chairs. Smaller and less red than the red man from her first day. Alice sits in a hard chair awkwardly. One other nurse stands on the other side of the room.

It is quiet. The walls are still—white. It seems like eternity—how long has it been? What time is it? Alice looks around, but does not see a clock. She decides it would be easier if she had a watch on her. A pocket watch, maybe.

The door opens. The nurse enters, approaches. There is someone behind her Alice cannot see. The nurse smiles, says there is someone to see her. She moves aside.

Fear seizes Alice.

It is the boy.

His grin is gone, his face calm. His eyes glint in recognition. The nurse sits him across from Alice. Alice shifts in her seat. Rubbing that white cloth around her palm. His eyes see it. Surprisingly, he does not grin. But almost. Alice sees a small flicker at the corner of his lips. The nurse urges him to do something, but Alice is to focused on the boy to hear what it is. His eyes reach hers. They stare. The small grin widens.

"Sorry." Alice blinks. Glances at the nurse, who nods encouragingly. She turns back to the boy. Glares.

"You stabbed me."

"Obviously."

"Why?"

"Why do you want to know?" This left Alice speechless. A grin stretches on his face as she tries to find the right words.

"Did I do anything to upset you?"

"Not particularly."

"Then you had no reason to stab me."

"Not exactly."

"Then why did you do it?" Alice insisted, angry. She briefly wonders if her eyes are red. The boy grins. Leans forward. His face is oh-so close to hers.

"Why do you care?" Alice huffs. Leans back slightly. The boy relaxes in his chair once again.

"I should care why someone would stab me."

"Should you?"

"Yes."

"If you say so."

"Obviously, I just said it." Another grin.

"You're definitely her."

"Who?"

"Her."

"Who is her?"

"Alice."

"That is my name, yes." The boy shakes his head. Chuckles.

"But you are not only her because of that name. You are her."

"I am not 'her', I am me, and I am me because of my name."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. I am no one but myself."

"Then who would you be without that name?" Alice is flabbergasted.

"Well, me, I suppose—"

"Then what's the use of the name?" The boy is leaning forward again, and Alice glares; the boy confuses her. He grins. Someone else enters. A male nurse. The boy is ushered from his seat. His eyes still watch Alice. She watches back.

"What is your name, then?" she calls out. He looks back, over his shoulder.

"If I am who I am without a name, what is the point of having one?"

"Well I need something to call you by, don't I?"

"Do you?"

"You seem to like riddles an awful lot."

"I don't."

"No?"

"No."

The boy is being pushed out the door. He pauses, glances back. Alice sees half of that curled smile.

"Chester." Before Alice can question or comment further, the door shuts. After a few moments Alice is lead out of the room, back to her room. She is told there are a few minutes until lunch.

They give her pain medication.

She takes it.

Her mind runs over her conversation with the cat-boy. Already she has almost forgotten his name. Charles? Chess? Cheshire? Chester! She remembers. In a while—she does not know how long; she should get a watch of some sort, perhaps a pocket watch?—she is lead out of her room once again. She enters the cafeteria.

Immediately Alice enters the food line. She takes the same food as before. The twitchy boy is before her again. Alice moves through the tables, avoiding anyone and everyone, until she hears that _psst_ again, and she immediately turns to the source. The mad boy is sitting at the same table, smiling and waving her over. The girl in red—Alice flinches—sits by his side, making angry red eyes at her food and poking at it with her fork.

The Cheshire is nowhere to be found.

Alice sits across from them. Glances around. The mad boy smiles. The red girl snarls.

"You are her," mad boy says, "Chester told us. He knows."

"I am Alice," Alice states, frowning, "You all seem to know who I am, but I don't know any of you." Mad boy's smile widens.

"I am Matt. Call me Madd. This is Rose." Rose snarls in response.

"Where is that boy from before?" Alice asks warily, "Chester?"

"Gone," Rose snapped, not looking up from setting fire to her food with her red-red eyes.

"They talk to Chester a lot," Madd states, his smile missing, "He needs help."

"He stabbed me."

"He needs help," Rose echoed angrily.

"Why did he stab me?" Alice asks Madd, not ready yet to talk to the oh-so-red girl.

"He liked it," Madd tells her, sending a shiver down her spine, and he immediately adds, "He may be sorry for it, but he wanted to do it. He can't help it. He loved every minute of it."

"He liked hurting me?"

"Don't take it personal," Rose snapped, stabbing a carrot with her plastic fork vehemently.

"Not just you. Anyone. Everyone. Anything. He needs help," Madd repeated. Alice watches Rose demolish her lunch out of the corner of her eye warily.

"Why do you all know who I am?" Madd smiles.

"Because you are you! Alice."

"I am Alice. Chester said that names don't matter."

"Do they?"

"I thought so."

"Do you think so?"

"I don't suppose."

"How come?"

"…I don't know."

"You are Alice," Madd repeated, "You are her. We have been waiting for you; that is why everyone knows you."

"But how have you been waiting for me? I have never seen you in my life."

"Have you?"

"No. I would have remembered."

"Are you certain?"

"Almost positively."

"But not absolutely?"

"…No." Alice huffed and crossed her arms.

"Everyone here is confusing." Madd smiles.

"Are we confusing, or are you?"

"I don't know anymore. Both, I suppose."

"Both, you say?"

"Yes. More than one of us can be confusing."

"Can we?"

"I think so."

"Hmm." It is quiet for a while. Alice glances around.

"Why are the doors unlocked at night?" Madd blinks, and Rose glances at her from under her lashes before mutilating a grape.

"Are they?" Madd asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Hmm… I didn't notice." Alice frowned and opened her mouth to ask, but suddenly it was the end of lunch, and with a hearty good-bye, the mad boy was gone, along with the red flower girl, leaving her destroyed food in her wake. Alice was ushered back to her room. There was a piece of paper on her bedside table that charted out her schedule for the next few days; apparently she would be joining others in recreational activities. Alice was too confused to really care.

Her head swirled and swirled with Cheshire cats and mad hatted boys and red flowery girls, and she could just feel the voices crowding at the edges, and was oh-so thankful to take the drink the nurse gave her, even though it made her feel so-so tiny. Alice lay on the hard bed and stared at the white ceiling, her mind swirling and swirling until finally, she drifted off into a light, white sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm... Hope ya liked it! There seems to be a plot developing... mwuahahahaha :) Why ARE the doors unlocked at night? Why do they all know who Alice is, and why have they been expecting her? Will there be any romance spurring between the main characters? Who the hell knows? I don't! I do, however, know there will be a few more characters introduced in the next one, so be prepared! Also, if you want to go ahead and leave a review, you know, I wouldn't object ;) I am going to bed now... Hope you likefavorite/review! Love you guys! BYESSSSSSSSSSSSSS!**


	5. Of Mice and Secrets

**Back once again :) It's been a while, but not too long, right? :P Well, I hope you liked the last one, and I hope you like this one! This one's a bit longer than the last one, I think, and a lot of the plot is going to become obvious in the next few chapters, so be prepared! :) Oh, and thanks guys for all the reviews, they make me so happy ^^ :3 anyhows... Onto the story!****  
><strong>

**Enjoy!  
><strong>

* * *

><p>In the morning, the drink wasn't there. In its place was a tiny white square cake, that had written, 'Eat Me', on the top with curly handwriting with the frosting. Alice took a small nibble out of the corner hesitantly, and flinched. She could taste the harsh pill more easily in this than in the drink. Putting it down, she glanced around. The tiny-tiny cake made her feel huge, as if she could crush something with just a small, short movement. Alice wasn't a big girl by any means, but as the nurse came by and began to lead her somewhere, she found herself trying to make herself smaller.<p>

They walked through white halls Alice didn't recognize before she was ushered into a large room, where others were. Some sat on couches, others sat on the floor and played with small gadgets and toys they'd been given. One boy had a small plastic box stuck up his nose. Alice almost giggled, before she was moved along. A short man with white hair stopped them, and they exchanged words Alice didn't bother hearing, before the nurses disappeared and the short man smiled at her.

"Good morning, Alice. I'm Rich, and I'll be your guidance councilor." Alice looked over the man, his short stature, slightly bowed legs, wispy white hair, slightly bucked teeth, and one thought popped into mind; _rabbit_. Apparently there had been a silence too long for her to respond, and the rabbit clapped his hands together.

"Alright, well let's introduce the rest of the gang, shall we? Over here, we have the twins, Dee and Dim." He motioned to two red-head boys who looked maybe a year younger than Alice and completely identical; they looked up from their tug-of-war with a doll to give a short grin and nod before ignoring her once again.

"This here is Dolly." The girl was extremely small though seemingly around the same age as Alice, making her try even harder to curl upon herself and make herself smaller, with large brown eyes, short brown hair, and a tiny nose, that Alice couldn't help but be reminded of a mouse.

"So, that's it," the rabbit said, smiling with his buck teeth and clapping his hands together, "Why don't you all get to know each other? I've just got a few notes over here I need to go over before we get started…" Alice gazed around the room, and felt eyes watching her. Her hair stood up on the back of her neck and she turned to meet the eyes of the mad-hatter.

He grinned from his spot on the floor near the back of his room, the red girl beside him, scowling at a plate of food, and the cat beside them, sitting back in a chair with his hands behind his head as another councilor woman talked to him. Just then, as if feeling her eyes, Chester turned and those strange eyes met her, sending a strange chill down her spine and inside her gut. The boy curled his lips up in a smile, his eyes flashing dangerously at her, before one of them closed in a wink.

Alice blinked before glaring, realizing she was being made fun of. The boy burst out laughing, getting a worried look and a scolding from his councilor. Suddenly Alice felt a tug on her sleeve and turned to see the tiny girl, who had her other hand to her mouth.

"I, uh, um…" she drifted in a wispy voice, reminding Alice of wind chimes.

"I'm Alice," Alice offered, holding out a hand and trying to smile nicely.

In the back of her mind, she remembered the conversation with Chester about names; if she didn't have a name, but was still the same person, what would she introduce herself as? Certainly she couldn't simply say, 'Hello, I am Me, and that's all I'll ever be,' because then the world would be just full of 'I's and me's and you's', and it'd be very confusing. Alice cataloged this thought to bring up later in case Chester questioned names again as the girl took her hand in a dainty one, making hers feel like mammoths, and shook it.

"Y-You must be her," she whispered, motioning across the room towards the others, "M-Madd told me. H-He said you were the right h-her. N-No one believed him."

"I'm not sure I do," Alice muttered, getting slightly tired and even more confused about this 'Alice' business. The mouse girl motioned to the empty seat on the couch next to her, and after just a moment of hesitating, Alice sat. The two boys stopped their game of tug-of-war, dropping the doll and seeming to forget about it completely, to lean in close to her, making her back up from the sudden proximity. After a moment one of them grinned.

"It is her." The other one frowned, scrutinizing.

"No it's not." The first one elbowed him.

"Yeah it is!"

"No it isn't!"

"Of course it is! Who else would it be?"

"An imposter!" The one scoffed.

"An imposter? Who would want to copy Alice?"

"An Alice imposter, who else?"

"An Alice imposter idiot!"

"Exactly!"

"I am not an idiot or an imposter," Alice protested, but it fell to deaf ears as the twins fixed each other with harsh glares.

"It's the _real_ Alice."

"It's a _fake_ Alice."

"Real."

"Fake."

"Is not."

"Is too."

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is. Not!"

"Is. Too!" As the argument heated up, Alice leaned away to whisper to mouse-girl to her right.

"Should we stop them?" The mouse-girl simply shook her head, and so Alice remained silent. The argument continued on, and Alice glanced at the quiet girl.

"Why does everyone know who I am? Madd said they were expecting me." The girl blinked her owlish eyes.

"We were."

"Why?"

"Why else?" Alice groaned.

"I wish everyone wouldn't speak in riddles." Dolly twiddled her fingers a bit, glancing around before leaning forward to whisper in her ear.

"They told us you were coming," she whispered, sending a shiver down Alice's spine, "They want you. But we won't let them have you. You will stop them, we're sure of it."

"Who—" Alice started, but was stop as a terrified look crossed Dolly's face, and she started over, keeping her voice low, "Who wants me? Who do I stop, and why do you think it'll be me who does it?" The mouse-girl was about to speak, when the rabbit suddenly hopped up, bucked teeth smiling. As he began talking, her mind began wandering, drowning out anything the rabbit-man said. Who was this girl talking about? Who told everyone who she was, and why?

Was it a trick?

Were they just trying to scare her? Alice remembered the terrified look on the girl's face, and doubted this was the case.

Then what? Something suddenly hit her. Her blood turned cold.

The voices.

Did they tell them?

Did they come here before she did, and tell everyone her secrets?

Or maybe they were all crazy, maybe crazier than she was. Alice relaxed a bit at this thought. Perhaps they all _thought_ they knew her. But then… the mad-hatter boy knew her name. The Cheshire had told them it was 'her'. The twins were arguing over whether or not it was her.

How had they known her name before she told them?

How?

What was—

"Alice?" Said girl jumped from her thoughts, back onto the couch, where everyone was looking at her expectantly. The rabbit-man took something out of his pocket, golden and shiny, and tapped it.

A pocket watch.

He was smart.

Alice should get one.

"We only have so much time, dear," he said, smiling.

"I'm sorry," Alice told him, for lack of anything else to say. He slipped the pocket watch back into his pocket, where it belonged, and spoke.

"I was just hoping you would tell us all what you thought of your new home so far." Alice blinked. Glanced at the mouse-girl to her right, who gave her a nervous look. Glanced at the twins, who looked worried.

"It's… um… curious." Rabbit-man leaned forward.

"How so?" The girl next to her was chewing on her nails. The twins were nudging each other without tearing their eyes from her. She could feel someone's gaze on her from off to the left, where the mad-hatter and red girl and Cheshire were. It seemed as if everything was still in the room, holding a breath in wait of her answer.

"It's just… different, from my old home, I guess," Alice finally said hesitantly. The rabbit man observed her for a moment, and the room's lack of breath almost choked her. Finally he smiled and nodded, moving on down the line on his paper. The room let out a _whoosh_ of relief, and Alice found herself physically relaxing, though she couldn't remember when she'd tensed up so much in the first place.

The questions continued, and Alice answered them the best she could while trying to actually pay attention. The room was a lot more relaxed for the rest of the time, but Alice couldn't shake off two pairs of eyes that seemed to be continuously probing her from the other side of the room.

* * *

><p>It was lunch time next, and Alice filed in obediently with the others in the line, though now the mouse-girl was beside her. Alice found that she didn't mind, and lead the girl to where she remembered the table being. This time there wasn't a <em>psst<em> to direct her, but Madd smiled widely as they sat across from him. Rose—looking thinner than before, was her wrists always that bony?—sat beside him, glaring daggers and red at her food.

Chester watched her. His eyes unwavering, his smile gone, but face shining with… interest? Alice tried to ignore it. Madd grinned and leaned toward the mouse-girl.

"Hey there, Doll!" Alice watched curiously as the girl's face flushed red—a nice, embarrassed red—and she ducked her head, her chestnut hair falling to cloak the blush.

"M-Madd…" Said crazy boy's grin widened. Alice tuned out the conversation slightly. She felt those eyes on her. She finally met them. The boy's lips twitched as their eyes met, and Alice tore her eyes away from his lips to look at those strange eyes directly. His smile grew, and Alice glared slightly. She didn't know why; perhaps she was still angry for him stabbing her.

That was probably it.

As if reading her thoughts, the corner of his lips curled even more, and in response Alice's glare hardened, though she doubted her eyes were red—they didn't _feel_ red. She'd barely eaten anything, and hadn't released her gaze from his, when the time was up, and everyone started moving. Alice glanced around, seeing Rose's food lay still untouched, though Alice didn't know why she cared for the red girl's food. Just then hot breath touched her ear and her breath caught.

The seat where Chester had been was empty, and the chuckle heated her neck and ran down her spine. Something crinkled in her palm, pressed there by another warm hand encasing hers. It lingered, as did the breath, before suddenly cold air washed over her and she jumped and spun around to find no one behind her and Chester nowhere in sight. She waved an absent-minded goodbye to the surprised-looking mouse-girl before looking down at the folded, crinkled piece of paper in her hand. Slowly she unfolded it, and her eyes alighted over sloppy handwriting written in blotchy black ink.

_Meet in hallway tonight. Showing you something... Alice._

* * *

><p><em><em>**:O! Soooooo the Cheshire wants to meet Alice and show her something... What is it? Who was the girl, Dolly, talking about that said they wanted Alice? Not thinking of any other questions right now, so I'll leave that as that :P Anyhow... Umm... Oh! In case you guys like the _Mortal Instruments_ series, there's someone who has a story for you! Type in Ballet Shinigami in the search bar and go on and click her story Misguided Feelings :) Alright then... I got a spider bite from Hades, and it itches, so I'ma go now T.T Review and stuffs, por favor, byessssss!  
><strong>


End file.
